Despite the best efforts of the England bowling attack, Australia women won the Ashes Test by seven wickets today.
England needed to take nine wickets on the final day with Australia, 29 for one overnight, looking to chase down 198 for victory.
Isa Guha and Katherine Brunt picked up the two wickets to fall as both Shelley Nitschke and Alex Blackwell were trapped lbw.
Brunt used the new ball well to pick up a late wicket, but it was too late for England as Australia needed just 18 runs by then.
Charlotte Edwards said: "Obviously I'm absolutely gutted to hand over the Ashes.
"Our bowlers did a fantastic job but unfortunately we didn't put enough runs on the board. We would have liked to make it a bigger chase.
"I'm proud of how the team have backed each other and really fought to the end. We've had a relatively inexperienced side out here and for many of them this was their first Test match.
"We have had a few setbacks early on this tour but the team have really come together and players have stood up to the mark and we showed this in the Twenty20 series."
Head Coach Mark Lane said: "We are bitterly disappointed to lose the Ashes Test, but the character and commitment from the players has been fantastic.
"We played positively and Jenny Gunn bowled well all day today.
"There was an exceptional piece of medium pace swing bowling from Rene Farrell yesterday that reduced our opportunity to get runs on the board.
"We would have liked to make it a longer chase for Australia going into the final day, but the whole team showed a lot of character by taking the game into the last session.
"The Twenty20 series was a key element of the tour for us and I'm very pleased we have come out of that 4-1 up. We wanted to play our brand of cricket and we did that.
"The young players who have come out here I'm sure will have learnt a lot in the tough conditions, playing Australia in Australia."
